The playful nature of memes for reflection and community building.
Lead Author: Helen Tidy
Additional authors:
Timetable: n/a, Spotlight
Description:
Memes are more than just internet jokes; they’re dynamic, creative, and accessible tools that invite play into higher education spaces. Rooted in popular digital culture, memes blend image and text to express complex ideas with humour, emotion, and bite-sized brilliance. Their playfulness allows student reflection, sparks participation, and builds community, offering a space where serious thinking and joyful creativity can coexist.
This spotlight session explores the pedagogical potential of memes as playful artefacts for learning. Drawing on real classroom examples, we will explore how students have used memes to reflect on their learning, share emotional responses, and remix disciplinary knowledge in inventive ways. Participants will then have the chance to step into the meme-making process themselves by experimenting with this inclusive, low-barrier practice and considering how meme-based play might enrich engagement, feedback, and belonging in their own teaching contexts.
References, web links and other resources:
Link to making and sharing memes:
https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/9AbBlaUhEdy4n
And supporting publications by author:
Tidy, H., Irving-Walton, J., Currie, G., Nichols-Drew, L., et al. (2024) What do you meme? – Meme-Making as a research method. Teaching in higher education. [Online] 29 (7), 1897–1913. Available at: doi:10.1080/13562517.2024.2345699.
Tidy, H., Bolton-King, R.S., Croxton, R., Mullen, C., et al. (2024) Enhancing the student learning experience through memes. Science & justice. [Online] 64 (3), 280–288. Available at: doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2024.03.004.
The playful nature of memes for reflection and community building.
Lead Author: Helen Tidy
Additional authors:
Timetable: n/a, Spotlight
Description:
Memes are more than just internet jokes; they’re dynamic, creative, and accessible tools that invite play into higher education spaces. Rooted in popular digital culture, memes blend image and text to express complex ideas with humour, emotion, and bite-sized brilliance. Their playfulness allows student reflection, sparks participation, and builds community, offering a space where serious thinking and joyful creativity can coexist.
This spotlight session explores the pedagogical potential of memes as playful artefacts for learning. Drawing on real classroom examples, we will explore how students have used memes to reflect on their learning, share emotional responses, and remix disciplinary knowledge in inventive ways. Participants will then have the chance to step into the meme-making process themselves by experimenting with this inclusive, low-barrier practice and considering how meme-based play might enrich engagement, feedback, and belonging in their own teaching contexts.
References, web links and other resources:
Link to making and sharing memes:
https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/9AbBlaUhEdy4n
And supporting publications by author:
Tidy, H., Irving-Walton, J., Currie, G., Nichols-Drew, L., et al. (2024) What do you meme? – Meme-Making as a research method. Teaching in higher education. [Online] 29 (7), 1897–1913. Available at: doi:10.1080/13562517.2024.2345699.
Tidy, H., Bolton-King, R.S., Croxton, R., Mullen, C., et al. (2024) Enhancing the student learning experience through memes. Science & justice. [Online] 64 (3), 280–288. Available at: doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2024.03.004.